This year for Lady Ada Lovelace Day, I want to celebrate the many women who shared their projects at Maker Faire New York.
I was thrilled to see the Touch Creature sculpture above by Talya Stein, especially after having seen an earlier version. She and I talked about the approachability of organic materials like wood. It was wonderful to see kids interacting with it.
I had a great conversation with Blythe Serrano, who I had met at a previous Maker Faire, about the material properties she has learned this year from experimenting with silicone casting. She makes light up pet collars, and generously shares her learning processes.
I loved this spatial magnetic field visualization by Inhye Lee. The three tubes in the center contain individually controllable electromagnets. The compasses spin in their spheres in response to the changing magnetic fields.
There are so many more I had the pleasure of connecting with and catching up with, including Becky Stern, Sophi Kravitz, Star Simpson, and Sally Byers. I love Maker Faire for the opportunity to bask in the glow (LED glow in some cases) of so many incredible women.
I’ve been trying to get any information I can on making the sort of motion that wonderful Touch Creature uses, since it’s apparently known stuff and I’d prefer not to reinvent the wheel. But what the heck is that sort of motion called? Can’t seem to nail down how to look it up.
I would start by searching for wire driven (or string driven) flexible robotic arm.